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Haynes offers her patients a more advanced, comprehensive level of care after earning certification as a low vision specialist.

Overland Park, KS (PRWEB)August 29, 2012

Terri Haynes, an occupational therapist specializing in low vision at Kansas City Vision Performance Center has earned certification through the Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation & Educational Professionals (ACVREP) as a Certified Low Vision Therapist.

Haynes completed the ACVREP certification in efforts to ensure her patients receive the most advanced level of low vision care she can offer. She has joined an elite group of 341 ACVREP Certified Low Vision Therapists in the United States and is one of only two practicing in the Kansas City area.

The ACVREP programs offer vision rehabilitation professionals the opportunity to enhance their knowledge base through continuing education in their specialty field. During the certification process, Haynes completed 350 hours of supervised study in the area of low vision including direct service hours, observations and case study completions. She then successfully passed a national certification examination.

“To have the opportunity to complete case studies was very valuable to me because they took me through each patient's process.” Haynes says, “To see how the patients applied their outcomes and were able to achieve meaningful goals in their lives was very rewarding and educational for me.”

More than 20 million Americans are living with low vision, and according to the Low Vision Council, as Americans continue to age and live longer; the number of people affected by low vision is expected to substantially increase by the year 2030. Haynes feels that her new certification will be beneficial to her patients as a tool to provide them with the most comprehensive treatment and education about low vision.

“It would be a great disservice to my patients if I didn't continue to grow and learn as a therapist.” says Haynes “After completing the ACVREP certification process, the skill level I have today, as opposed to six months ago, is much greater and broad.”

Terri Haynes practices low vision for Dr. John Metzger at Kansas City Vision Performance Center, located in Overland Park, Kansas. It is the only optometry practice in Kansas and Missouri dedicated solely to the full spectrum of visual performance, including vision therapy, developmental optometry, low vision rehabilitation and neuro-optometry. Dr. Metzger and his team of therapists provide an advanced level of vision care to patients of all ages through individualized diagnostic, therapeutic and rehabilitative services.